BJMcDonnell SOC

Jesus Christ!!! Ron dude you gotta lay off the Twinkies!! That pic is NO BUENO!!!!!!!!! OK So yes we survived the Jumbos Clown room air duct. Thanks to brad for bringing the blowgun to put all the strippers to sleep. MT Whitney......... I am all in. Late June for me. I am in Utah till the end of May on a feature. No yoga, beer is good. BJ McDonnell

Guys, it is sad to say but they got Ron. I am looking down from the AC duct at the horrible yet fantastic sight. Brad came around and met us and his quarter roll exploded giving away our position. They grabbed Ron and right now he is tied to a chair on stage. He is surrounded by the strippers and they have put pasties on him. I can't tell from here if he is smiling or if that is his natural look of terror. Brad and I are just drinking the booze he brought and watching Ron Baldwin fight for his........life. Charles, you are the closest to Jumbos.......S.O.S BJ McDonnell reporting via Brads Commodore 64

Rons Treo is going dead and so is my blackberry. This could be our last post if somebody doesn't hurry up and get those singles here FAST. Right now the strippers are all on the stage pole swinging violently. the screws are comming undone in the AC vent. They are trying to flush us out. Oh no the DJ just put on "Here I Go Again On My Own" from Whitesnake. I think it is curtains for us. BJ McDonnell and Ron Baldwin.

Can somebody please come unlock the doors here at Jumbos! Ron and I drank all the booze and now the strippers are looking at us like we are food. I will try to make it wherever you guys decide if we ever get outta here. BJ

Well, I have punched some people a few times in the last couple of months. Does that put me back in the climb status? I am also good at drinking. If you guys consider me being in shape then I will hike most of the booze up. BJ

Hey Ron, I am all in if I am not working. I am bummed I missed the climb last time. BJ

Of course I am with Ron for Jumbos Clown Room. BJ

Yo Geoff!! Happy birthday brutha!!! Yes Brad had a good point.......Where are those pics from the guild get together? Anyway hope your doing well. BJ

Hey Ron, I remember meeting Matt when you guys were talking about the Rickshaw. What horrible news. He seemed to be a really cool guy when I met him. He will be missed. Condolences to his family.

Hey Nick! Dude that sucks! I hope you get better soon. Happy Holidays. BJ McDonnell

I bought Antlers from Cinewidgets and they work pretty well when it is windy. Of course the two 4X4 doubles in a V and you works well too. BJ McDonnell

Happy Birthday Erwin, I hope you have a killer Bday! I am out looking for strippers for Rons new stripper room. So far I have only been able to gather the choice women from Jumbos Clown room. Ron and I have already got them to agree to a killer birthday lap dance for you. Take care buddy and thanks for being a good friend. BJ McDonnell

I totally agree with Erwin also. This is getting a little too segregated. I was looking forward to meeting more people from this forum. Be it a newbie or a seasoned Pro, I am just looking for a good time with drinks and good company. As for experience level, who cares! Everybody starts somewhere and what better place to meet people and ask questions. Of course ask questions before people get too crunked out and give crazy answers. I don't get to see you guys much and it is always nice when EVERYBODY can kick back and talk. I could care less what background you came from be it camera dept. or not. If you are passionate about the craft of steadicam / camera operating, then that is all that matters. See you all somewhere on the Cinegear day where ever we all decide to go. Lets just have a good time. BJ "Can't we all just get along" McDonnell P.S. I guess Ron answers my question, see you all at the RHINO. Newbies will love it!

O.K. I am going to be there. 99.9% BJ McDonnell

As for "SPOTTERS", make sure it is someone who has spotted steadicam before. I was working on a AFI thesis project a few years ago and I had a scene where I had to run backwards with our actor. There were two paths to take, the right path and the wrong path. I checked the area where I had to go beginning in the grass and then going onto a asphalt street. The right area had a nice paved street where as the wrong area had a few pot holes in it. I showed my "SPOTTER" where to lead me and where not to take me. Sure enough on the second run my spotter led me right into the (Kenny Loggins style) DANGER ZONE! Well I remember like everything got ramped in film, I stepped in a hole and I felt myself going down. I put the rig way out in front of me and my shoulder took the hit on the concrete. My rig and the moviecam compact were OK but I was bleeding pretty good from my shoulder. I think the worst broken part was my ego. My spotter had no prior experience spotting and he just let me go. So now I choose more carefully who is spotting me and how fast I have to run backwards or if I can use a rickshaw. The second thing you want to make sure before any job which newbie ops forget is to make sure you get a certificate of insurance for your gear no matter what. Alot of people forget about getting that and it will save you if anything gets broken on set. I was on a feature where the B cam op tried to get the camera off my sled without loosening the bolt that secures the dovetail. He snapped the little finger switch right off my rig. He did not tell me about it untill I got to the bar where everybody was drinking and he was drinking heavily because he was scared to tell me. Good thing I had production give me the certificate of insurance and three days later I had a new clamp from GPI shipped to me. BJ McDonnell

I will see you all there at Gladstones. BJ McDonnell

Yes Brad, I do spend most of my weekends this way. I am a walking disaster. Hey Morgan, are you gonna fly over for cinegear? The surf is not as good as Hawaii but it is fun. Gladstones, wedding party chics, drunk operators, surf and rocks!!!! I am ready. BJ McDonnell P.S. Geoff, if I am kiteboarding then you are surfing!!!

Well OK I guess I am in. Chicks dig scars so I will do what I must. I live really close to Gladstones so I drink first, get on the kiteboard, get dragged across rocks, show off bloody scars to chicks, steadi-vomit on them later, and walk home. OK AYE!!!! BJ McDonnell

Finally someone noticed my Spearmint Rhino call! Of course it was Ron! Oh well Gladstones is great. I live real close to Gladstones so I can stagger home all crunked out! Lets go to Rhinos after Gladstones, Whos WITH ME!!!!!!!!!! OH yes for all the outta towners, Spearmint Rhino is a strip club. BJ" loves steadicam, but loves naked chics more" McDonnell

Hey Dan, If you have some grips around with a set of 4X4 doubles you can ask them to hold them up while you balance. Of course sometimes the grips might be busy and short staffed. I agree with Alec, make it a little more bottom heavy if you can and use Antlers. Tom Gleason made me a bad ass set of antlers for a great price. BJ McDonnell

OK I see my Spearmint Rhino didn't go off so my vote is also for Gladstones!

How about the Spearmint Rhino! There are alot of sweet gadgets we can talk about there! :)

Hey David, Yes that was me. I wish I could have seen it......DAMN! I need to get Tivo. The video was for a song that the band did for "The Fast And Furious 3" called "Round Round". The rappers were really cool. That weight cage I bought from Derrick Whitehouse. It is not a regular workshop style weight cage. It is a home made cage that I got when I first started and I swear it is as heavy as a BL! BJ "Hate using home made weight cage" McDonnell

Hey Nikk, I agree with Erwin 100%. Make sure you are buying something modular. I have a PRO 1 rig but I have upgraded everything I had untill I was happy. As a matter of fact I have a PRO 1 battery base from one of Erwins eight sleds. I went through 4 arms EFP, IIIA, Steady rigs silver spring arm, and now I have a PRO arm and I am satisfied. I went through 3 monitors until I was happy with my TB6. I bought used stuff and upgraded as the jobs started getting better. Read the classifieds and make sure you are making the right investment with your money. BJ McDonnell

Yo mountain bruthas! I just got word that the second feature I was going to do here in New Mexico got the plug pulled and is no longer gonna happen. I will be heading back to Los Angeles on May 2nd. If any one of you guys back out on the climb I am ready to jump into the space if it is not filled already. I am also looking for work to fill in the six weeks I had booked in New Mexico so if anyone has a job they can't do send it my way!! Ron, keep me updated homie. I still know my campfire play lines and I will bring the Johnny Walker in my camel back. BJ McDonnell